Tag Archives: burrito

Ahh Madison. The city between the lakes. Home to the Badgers, the State Capitol and the naked bike ride. Also a home to thousands of students who are looking to satisfy their hungry with meager wads of cash. Look no further starving students, I have found the place for you: Santa Fe Trailer foodcart.

This New Mexico-style foodcart has been around since April 2008 and was a familiar sight – I’ve noticed it at several events like block parties and Concerts on the Square. I picked a sweltering Friday afternoon to finally pay a visit to the brightly colored cart.

Santa Fe Trailer

I ordered the chicken chile burrito which boasted a 12″ tortilla filled with meat, beans and cheese. My toppings included lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and sauce (I went with the ‘Christmas’ which is half red chile sauce, half green chile sauce). I paid what I thought was an outrageous price of $9 for the burrito and large side of guacamole ($6 for the burrito, $3 for the guac).

After a momentary feeling of buyer’s remorse, I handed over my money and waited about three minutes for a hefty silver container containing my meal. My very heavy container. Suddenly, I knew what was in store. This was a far cry from the tiny lunches of food carts past. This was a lunch AND plenty of leftovers for dinner! The size of this monster burrito blew Anna’s El Burrito Loco mediocre burrito out of the water. (Editor’s note: sorry I’m not sorry Anna)

MONSTER burrito and tasty guac

I got over my shock and used a fork to dig into my lunch/dinner. Bursting with ingredients and drenched in sauce, every bite was delicious. I liked the green chile side more than the red chile side but all of it was really good, exactly what you would expect from well constructed, hearty burrito. The guacamole tasted great as well but wasn’t absolutely necessary.

Santa Fe Trailer will give you the most food for your money hands down – this gigantic burrito left me very full after two meals. I paid the exact same price for a portable wrap from Good Food that was much smaller. But it is unfair of me to compare the two on price because Good Food’s wrap contained fresh and organic ingredients that are more pricey. Quite simply, if you want to be healthy, go to Good Food, if you want to be uncomfortably full and a thrifty spender, go to Santa Fe Trailer.

Less than Loco Lunch
Location: Corner of East Main and Martin Luther King Drive (Capitol Square)
By: Anna

After summers of skipping around in the mountains, I’ve moved on to a new kind of life: the intern life. One of the pluses, besides air conditioning and killer resume building projects, is eating on the capitol square. I get to walk around in my business casual shoes and pretend I’m part of the working world.

So I walk in step with the other business casuals on the square in search of the perfect cart. I’m absolutely always in the mood for Mexican, and El Burrito Loco was in sight. There were at least ten lunchers waiting for their food so I hoped crowded also meant delicious. Confused at first, as to where I should order, I stepped up to the plate (or window as it were) and ordered the chicken burrito with mild sauce.

El Burrito Loco cart

The menu had all the essentials: burritos (chicken, beef, veg), tacos, nachos, enchiladas and the meal of the day was steak fajitas – All for fairly reasonable prices ranging from $2 per taco, $6 for burritos and $7 for the fajitas.

After the order, I grabbed my fork (no napkins left) and waited. and waited some more. After about 10 minutes of small talk with my lunch companions they called out my CHICKEN BURRITO MILD SAUCE and we headed for the capitol lawn.

The waiting bothered my companions more than me but that could be because I spent the last four months in Nepal where ‘fast food’ isn’t in anyone’s vocabulary. In any case, forewarning: if you’ve only got a half hour lunch, or you’re truly on the run, this isn’t the cart for you – especially at peak lunch hour during the week.

The burrito of mediocrity

Chicken, rice, sour cream, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, pinto beans, and mild sauce. In my extensive burrito endeavors, this is a fairly standard array of ingredients so it’s less about what’s in it and more about how exactly it tastes.

It tasted fine. Burrito like. Chicken-y and saucy. Really saucy. It wasn’t spit-it-out-it’s-awful and it wasn’t blow-my-mind-order-4-more either. I was pleasantly indifferent to my meal. Also, it didn’t stay a burrito for very long. Everything was damp enough (or saucy enough?) that it leaked pretty heavily and split the burrito almost immediately upon grab. The fork came in handy, and it was pretty messy to eat (especially because I didn’t have napkins).

Not delicious and not bad. Not the place for quick eats or bold flavor but hey, I haven’t given up on El Burrito Loco – I’m still willing to give their other food a chance (and maybe try the ‘hot’ sauce) but for now, less on the loco burrito and onto another cart!